Potato-harvester.



PATENTED OCT. 16. 1906.

A. F. CLARKE.

POTATO HARVBSTER.

APPLICATION rum) NOV. 6, 1905.

2 BHEETS-BKEET 1.

1 ".]bllll Inventor Wit nessesg I 1' w Attornys No 833,705. PATBNTED OCT. 16, 1906.

- A. F. CLARKE. POTATO HARVBSTBR.

APPLIOATIOR FILED NOV. 6. 1906.

2 SHEETS-$111131 2.

itnesses E ME Inventor f r J: VzizFfla/ke MM Attorneys son and State of Illinois, have invented a new granted to me on ing the I ters of reference.

frame UNITED STATESM ALVIN F. CLARKE, or ED PATENT OFFICE.

WARDSVILLE, ILLINOIS.

POT ATO-HARVESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

Original application filed July 24, 1905, Serial No. 271,061. Divided and this application filed November 6 1905- Serial No- 286,089.

To all whom iii-may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN FERDINAND CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Edwardsville, in the county of Madiand useful Potato-Harvester, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to potato-harvesters, and it is a division of the application for Letters Patent for certain improvements in potato-harvesters, said patent having been December 12, 1905, No. 806,871.

The present invention relates particularly to the mechanism for conveying the potatoes that are being dug by the di ging apparatus of the machine to a receptac e, said conveying apparatus including means for cleanotatoes or 'freein them from dirt and sma l and unmarketa le potatoes, the objects of the invention being to simplify and improve this class of mechanism.

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the inven tion is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being,however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations, and modifications withinthe scope of the invention may be made when deslred.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a to plan view of a potato-harvester constructe in accordance with the principles of the invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig.

a rear elevation with arts broken away. Fig. 4 is a sectional detai view taken on the plane indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. 1.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar charac- The frame F of the machine is provided with cutting mechanism having suita le means for adjusting it, and said frame and mechanism have been fully illustrated and described by me in the patent hereinbefore mentioned.

' A di ger-frame 16 is supported from the and is provided on its inner sides with side members 17' of an elevator-frame containing an endless carrier 18, which is mounted upon rollers 19 and 20, supported for rotation near the lower and u per ends of said frame, res ectively. The e evator consists of an endless apron of flexible, usually textile, material provided-with cross-slats 21. Between the lower ends of the side members of the frame 16 is secured the digger 22, which consists of an inclined plane ada ted for digging into the soil to excavate tiie potatoes, which, together with the dirt adhering thereto, will slide u the inclined plane and be delivered onto t e elevator or carrier, whereby they are disposed of, as will be presently described.

The rear part of the frame F supports a transversely-disposed elevator or carrier-- trou h 33, having a solid bottom 34, above whic is supported a screen 35. At the upper and lower ends of the trough adjacent to the upper and lower ends of the screen are rollers 35 and 36, sup orted for rotation and connected by endless belts 37, which in turn are connected by means of transverse slats 38, constituting a carrier. The lower end of p the trough is provided with a receiving-hopper 39, whereby the potatoes discharged over the carrier 18 are deposited' upon the carrier in the trough 33, said hop er serving to pre vent the potatoes from (ii'opping upon the ground.

Supported adjacent to and below the ,discharge end of the carrier contained in the trough 33 is 'a'frame 40, slightly inclined in a forward and downward direction and having guide-flanges 41, upon which a screen 42 is sup orted for reciprocation. Said screen slig itly overlaps a receptacle 43, which is hingedly supported upon the frame F and which is provlded at its inner end with a lever or handle 44, whereby it may be manipulated to discharge its contents to one side of the machine. A flexible member, such as a chain 45, connects the inner ed e of the receptacle 43 with the frame, said exible member being intended as a check to prevent the receptacle from being tilted too far and also when the receptacle is tilted to enable the operator to restore it to normal position by simply pressing upon the chain with his foot.

A seat 46 for the driver or operator is sup- IIO ' mallyheld in.. engagement with the clutch member 54 by the action of a suitably-disposed spring '56. A bifurcated lever 57,

pivoted upon .the rear of the frame, enga es an annular oove 58 in the clutch mem er 55, and saidiver 57 is connected by a link 59 with a crank 60 at the lower end of a vertically-supported shaft 61, having at its upper end a handle 62, whereby it may be turnedfor the purpose of throwing the clutch members 55 and 54 out of engagement, thereby ermitting the sprocket-wheel 51 torotate idly upon the shaft 50. Said shaft carries near its outer end a bevel-pinion 63, meshing with a bevel-pinion 64 upon a stub-shaft 65, which latter also .carries a sprocket-wheel 66, which is connected by a chain 67 with a sprocket-wheel 68 upon the shaft 69 of the roller 35, which is thereby driven, thus driving the endless carrier in the trough 33.

connected by a pitman 70 with the reciprocatory screen 42, to which latter motion is thus transmitted.

The shaft 50 carries a fixed s rocket-wheel 71, which is connected by a c ain 72 witha sprocket-wheel 73 upon a stub-shaft 74, which is sup orted for rotation in a bracket upon one o the arch members 9. The shaft 74 has a spur-gear 75 meshin with a spur-gear or pinion 76 upon a stub-s aft,77, su ported for rotation in a bracket 78 upon t e arch member 9. The shaft 77 also carries a bevelpinion 79, meshing with a bevel-pinion 80, which slidably engages a non-circular shaft 81, which extends through suitable bearings in the bracket member 78 and the lower endof which has a bearing in a bracket 82, connected with one of the side members of the trough or casing in which the endless carrier 18 is supported. Said non-circular shaft has securely connected therewith a bevel-pinion- 83, meshing with a bevelinion 84 upon. the shaft 85, carrying the re er 20, which supports the upper end of the carrier 18 and imparts motion in the proper direction to said carrier.

It will be seen that under the construction described the digger-frame 16 may be raised Theshaft 50 terminates in a crank 69, which is or lowered without interrupting or affecting the movement of the endless carrier 18, this being obviously impdrtant; as the o erator is thereby enabled to raise and lowert e diggerframe while the machine is in operation, and thus to adipst the digger according to the condition oft ecrop.

Thepotatoes excavated by the di ger are, elevated by the carrier 18 and are dumped into the hopper atthe receivingend of the carrier contained in the trou h 33. The potatoes being thus drop ed or; umped, the dirt adhering thereto wi be dislodged .and will pass between the bars of-the screen contained within the trou h 33. The endless carrier operating in the atter will thus serve toelevate the potatoes and to dischargethem into the frame containing the reciprocatory screen .at the lower end of the trough. The potatoes discharged upon the reci rocato screen- 42 are subjected to an additional 0 eansin operation, after which they are discharge into the tiltable rece tacle 43, where they accumulate until its all1 be desired to discharge them, which may be done at any time by manipulating the receptacle 43 by means of the lever or handle 44.

The construction of this improved potatoharvester, as will be seen from theforegoing description, is simple and inexpensive, and the operation thereof. is practical and efficient.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is In a machine. of theclass described the combination, with a main frame; of an. inclined wall carried by the frame, an oppo-v sitely-disposed screen adjacent said wall, said screen and wall constituting a hopper normally open at the bottom, a carrier extendin throng the opening, slats upon. the carrier ada ted to substantiall close the opening at pre etermined interva s, a carrier forcons veying material to the hopper, and a receptacle for receiving material from the carrier on the screen.

In testimony that I claim theforegoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALVIN F. CLARKE.

around the. screen and movable. 

